Name: Priyanshi Jain Email – priyanshijain204@gmail.com Adolescents and Body image issues Adolescence is the developmental stage that lies between childhood and adulthood. It is generally viewed as starting just before the teenage years and ending in adulthood. During this period adolescents undergo many physical, cognitive, and emotional changes. They are in the phase of understanding and creating an identity of themselves and this world. So, they have to face many internal and external changes in their life affecting their sense of themselves and their body image. Body image refers to what a person believes about their appearance, how they feel about their body, height, weight, and shape, and how they sense and experience their body. A body image is constructed for adolescents through their environment that is, their culture, family, friends, and media. The individual can have a positive or a negative body image, positive body image means that they are satisfied with their body and accept it but negative body image means that they are dissatisfied with their body and might feel like they need to change their body shape or size or. An individual having a negative body image might compare themselves with other’s bodies, compelling the individual to monitor their weight, height, or skin condition, they also might feel ashamed or embarrassed in public and see parts of their body in a distorted way. A negative body image is formed when the environment forces a particular beauty or body standard on the adolescent, that they might not relate to or fit into. These beauty standards vary from acne-free skin to zero-size figures to abs, which might be unachievable for some people for various reasons, these unrealistic expectations force the individual to buy certain expensive products and perform certain types of activities to look acceptable and desirable. Also, experience plays an important role in forming body image, a negative experience about body image might lead the individual to form a negative body image, for example, bullying for being overweight, for having vitiligo, for having less hair, or for having dark skin. As in adolescents, there is a need to ‘fit in’ so they put pressure on themselves which in turn might increase stress and anxiety, depression, and in some contribute to body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), eating disorders, and other conditions. Race, gender, nationality, size, sexual orientation, and age also affect whether the individual will have a high chance of having a negative body image or not. Researchers found that 31%-85% of girls and 16%-55% of boys were said to be having negative body images, making negative body images higher in girls as compared to boys. It was also found that half of the individuals belonging to LGBTQIAA+ had problems with their bodies, and 33% even considered suicide as compared to 11% of heterosexuals. Negative body image can be a serious problem as it can last lifelong, so adolescents who have negative body image can take a professional’s help, that is, talking to a therapist who works to improve body image, individuals can also try positive self-talk, for example, ‘my vitiligo makes me unique’ rather than saying ‘why do I have vitiligo.’ Wearing comfortable clothes that make the individual feel good can also help, spending time with people who talk about body positivity, changing negative beliefs about your body, and learning stress management and coping strategies might also help. Even with these strategies, it might take time to turn negative to positive body image, so being patient is necessary. Media messages, past experiences, and life changes can all lead to a negative self-image, which might cause a person to be dissatisfied or unhappy with their body and might lead to anxiety, depression and even suicide. So, seeing a therapist would be beneficial and they might resolve the issue of negative body image. References – Feldman and (adapted by) Nandita, Development Across The Life Span 8th edition, Pearson India Education, 2018 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249190#summary https://www.rosewoodranch.com/adolescents-negative-bodyimage/#:~:text=A%20negative%20body%20image%20means,esteem%20and%20pos itive%20lifestyle%20choice.
